SSD Dilemma | SATA II Port vs PCIe 1x 2.0 SATA III Controller Card

NoCakeNoCode

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May 10, 2016
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I'm planning to upgrade my storage from HDD to SSD, currently my eyes are set on the
Samsung 850 Evo 500 GB SSD.

Those glorious specs at a budget, however I own a HP XJ010EA with the following specs:

- Intel i7 870
- 2 TB HDD.
- Asus GeForce 950 GTX
- 16 GB RAM DDR3 (2x HP Mode and 2x Kingston HyperX FURY 8GB Kit)
- Stock 460W power supply.
- Windows 7 x64 bit - Home Premium.

Now to the important part , the mobo is an MSI 2A9C.

What I think, if I wanted to enjoy at least 85% of the SSD specs, my first guess that I would need a SATA III port, unfortunately it isn't available on the mobo and SATA II will just bottleneck all that omphh, therefore my next guess would be to use one of the available PCIe 1x 2.0 slots and install a SATA III Controller Card such as the following one:

IO Crest 2 Port SATA III PCI-Express x1 Card (SY-PEX40039) - ASM1061

At first it seemed like a reasonable solution but then I read the critical reviews (many negatives), however from some comments some say that they've had at least a 60% improvement over the mobo SATA II port, I'm still skeptical as it seemed to be quite a few cases so I'm running out of options.

I've searched the internet for performance tests, comparisons and have went through a lot of videos but I finally gave up, I'd appreciate if anyone would give me suggestions or advice me on some good SATA III controllers so I can release the seal and enjoy the ssd's power without having to resort into purchasing a new and better motherboard. :)

One more question, if I were to purchase the above SSD, what do I need to purchase with it? do I have to keep some things in mind?

Thank you for your time :)


PS: This website is partially banned for unknown reasons by our country ISP's (Oman), I'm using VPN just to access here. (Skype is also banned....y u do dis..)
 
Solution
The PCI card strikes me as "marginal" at best and the negative reviews strengthen that impression. Yes it "supports" but that does not mean you will end up with the stated communication speeds. Most likely tested and established in a very ideal environment.

Could be other hardware and/or software bottlenecks....

Would not expect the card to be of that high of quality either......

My thought would be to just install the Samsung 500 GB SSD and see how well it actually works as is. Clone the existing drive to it and swap them.

Bound to be better than the current HDD. And the current HDD would be intact to swap back later if necessary or desired.

Then decide on how you wish to proceed: I.e., a new motherboard perhaps.


The PCI card strikes me as "marginal" at best and the negative reviews strengthen that impression. Yes it "supports" but that does not mean you will end up with the stated communication speeds. Most likely tested and established in a very ideal environment.

Could be other hardware and/or software bottlenecks....

Would not expect the card to be of that high of quality either......

My thought would be to just install the Samsung 500 GB SSD and see how well it actually works as is. Clone the existing drive to it and swap them.

Bound to be better than the current HDD. And the current HDD would be intact to swap back later if necessary or desired.

Then decide on how you wish to proceed: I.e., a new motherboard perhaps.


 
Solution